This week I took a bite of a dessert with a deep-fried crispy exterior and a soft, sweet and rich cheesecake inside that melted in my mouth. It satisfied my sweet tooth and sent me to an alternate and utopic universe. I had fried cheesecake at Masa, and found the single best dessert in Galesburg; which is warm, satisfying and affordable at the same time. It cost about $6.55 and was able to feed both me and my friend, leaving us both in awe of what we ate.

The cheesecake exterior is a crumbed shell, and the inside is the perfect warm and gooey New York-style cheesecake. The only critique I would give would be to add more flavor to the shell because it offers a good texture, but doesn’t really taste like anything. Perhaps it helps balance out the delicious richness of the cheesecake inside. It is served with chocolate syrup and whipped cream, and whipped cream on anything is always the right choice to go with.

Now, let’s switch gears to talk about my old mortal enemy, the chicken at the Hard Knox Cafe. This term, the Caf came out with burrito bowls, which have had mixed reviews. The station usually includes cilantro rice and brown rice or chips, chicken, beef, or other choice of meats, and cheese. On my first day back at Knox, I tried the burrito bowl and absolutely devoured it, and I asked my friend, who had been back long before I was, why she wasn’t eating the burrito bowl. She said she was tired of having the same thing again and again. A week later, I understood what she meant.

Over time, the quality of the only Halal protein in the burrito bowls, chicken, has sharply declined. The chicken is usually swimming in a broth, which isn’t adequately spiced, which gives it a chewy texture, almost like tofu. It isn’t my favorite kind of chicken. Maybe trying different spices for the broth or reducing the broth would give the chicken a better taste and texture.

The food recommendation for this week is to be wary of the caf chicken, and if you want to spoil yourself, go to Masa!